Long Time No See & February Favorites

Hi, friends. It's been awhile.

I wish I had a real excuse for the lack of updates on this beautiful little blog other than the fact that I've been extremely busy, but unfortunately not. To be fair - things have been crazy the past two months. I have a new job that I started the second week of February working for a major cosmetic company (I'm going to keep that vague for my own personal reasons but if you want to know it won't be hard to tell as I've mostly been wearing their products lately) and my girlfriend Caitlin of First Glance Feeling moved in the weekend of the Superbowl so we've had a lot going on!

I'm so sorry for the absence though and I have some tutorials planned for this month - one of which is already done, I just need to take the pictures.

Anyway, on to the part of the blog you actually care about - the beauty products. It's okay, that's the part I actually care about, too.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I had a super snowy February. I also had some really staple products in my routine, and instead of waffling about anymore, I'll jump right into them.

Let's start with this amazing brow pencil. The Rimmel London Professional Brow Pencil in Hazel 002 has been my go-to for perfectly groomed brows this past month because I've been constantly in a hurry. As much as I love using Mac Omega and a brush to fill in my brows for a very natural look, I just don't always have the time for it. At least - that's why I started using this pencil, which had been in my stash for quite some time. I quickly found that I liked the definition it gave my blonde brows and blended nicely, especially considering that I'd had my hair darkened up by the roots. It's now a permanent fixture in my every day makeup bag. I also like the brush on the end because I find it softens everything out.

Making our way down the face area, next up is this mascara. The Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara in Black has actually usurped The Falsies as my favorite and every day mascara. I know, crazy, right? So this mascara has to be something phenomenal. I like that it's a little more natural for an everyday look but still packs on the volume. I have thin, blonde lashes and this makes them look thicker but not over the top. This one is smaller than a normal tube because I got it in their last promotion but as soon as this one's out I'm definitely buying the full size.

Another product by Clinique, the All About Shadow palette in Neutral Territory 2 has pretty much replaced my Naked palettes. I find these shadows easier to blend and that you can create a lot more varied looks with it, because it doesn't have a "theme" to it like the Naked palettes do, where you have your bronzes and taupes and rosy shades. This has a little bit of everything - with the exception of truly matte shades. I definitely would've liked matte shades in this, but I didn't find myself particularly missing them, either. My go-to shades in this palette are the third from the lightest shade (the light shade of the Neutral Territory duo), the first true brown shade (the brown shade of the Polar Bear quad), and the next one (Hazy). Now - it is limited edition, but I know my local counter still has some left so go and check! It's totally worth it.

Another small product! This was part of a Christmas set, but something I'd tried before and loved. The Laura Mercier Foundation Primer is unlike any other primer I've tried. It's a lot more liquid-like than the Baby Skin primer I tried, or the Clinique or Smashbox primers, and therefore I find that a little bit goes a lot farther with this one. It really does make a difference in keeping my foundation on and when I don't have it on I definitely notice a difference. There are a lot of different formulas to this product, too, and I'd tried the oil free formula previously but honestly I can get away with the original formula. A good primer is really very important and I've definitely found it in the Laura Mercier primer.

Finally, a lippy. Of course I have a lip product in my favorites - because if I didn't, I think people would be worried, honestly. This is the Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Super Strawberry, aka the perfect every day pink. I am all about pink lips for every day and though I love my brights, this is nice for a leggings-and-hoodie hanging out at Starbucks and drinking Refreshers kind of day (the kind of day I'm having right now). I actually gave this as a gift to Caitlin for Christmas and I've kind of commandeered it from her, so it must be really good, right?

And that's a wrap on my February favorites! Honestly I think there are some really, really important products in this favorites as they've completely replaced old ones; I don't remember the last time I touched my Falsies or Naked palettes. 

I hope you guys have had an awesome month! Keep a lookout for my next tutorial - my makeup look for the Demi Lovato Neon Lights tour. :)

As always, thanks for reading and I love you very much!

x Kristin